Computer systems may use dynamic random access memory (DRAM) modules to store data being used to operate the computer system or being used for computation by programs running on the computer system. Some computer systems contain error checking code (ECC) features in the computer memory systems that allow correction of data errors in the computer memory system.
DRAM devices in computer memory systems require a constant supply of electrical power in order to read, write, and preserve the data stored therein. In some computer systems, the power consumption of DRAM devices in the computer memory system may constitute as much as 10% of the total computer system power consumption. Computer systems that do not have ECC features may perform computational tasks equivalent to computer systems that have ECC features at a lower expenditure of electrical power.